New approaches bring hope to addicts

Monday

Palm Beach County being the epicenter of the state’s ongoing heroin and opioid crisis is well-documented.

However, September’s National Recovery Month brings a modicum of encouraging news: County officials project a year-to-year decrease in opioid overdoses of nearly 40 percent in 2018.

Such news is tempered, though, by the fact that opioid overdoses peaked in 2017 — and 2018 would mark the first year-to-year decrease since 2012.

To be clear: Reducing the county’s opioid overdoses from 647 last year to a projected 400 this year doesn’t mean the crisis has been solved — merely that progress is being made.

And for that, a combination of elected leaders, local advocacy groups, substance-abuse facilities and addiction therapists is to be commended.

Here then is a look at just three of the myriad innovative approaches that have helped reduce Palm Beach County’s opioid overdoses:

Palm Healthcare Foundation

In the summer of 2017, the nonprofit was determined to, in the words of spokesperson Marge Sullivan "unify fragmented silos into a comprehensive countywide system of care for the addicted."

The organization partnered with three local entities — Southeast Florida Behavioral Health Network, Hanley Foundation and Town of Palm Beach United Way — and the international nonprofit Rapid Results Institute to figure out the best ways to coordinate the county’s public, private and nonprofit resources.

As Sullivan explained of the nearly three dozen participating agencies, "No part of the system was sacred and everyone was required to be nimble, brutally honest and cast aside the status quo."

Oh, and it all had to be done within 100 days — because Rapid Results Institute has found that, when it comes to making meaningful social policy change, 100 days creates just the right amount of urgency.

The initiative officially kicked off in February, and by June — when the 100-day deadline hit — here’s what had been accomplished:Establishment of a new Safety Net Recovery System for Palm Beach County.2-1-1 became the crisis call center.A new 14-bed intake facility was opened.14 "recovery navigators" were brought in to guide addicts through the treatment and recovery process.Uber Health was enlisted to transport addicts to treatment facilities 24/7.11 certified treatment facilities agreed to accept 100-Day Challenge vouchers from Southeast Florida Behavioral Health Network. These are essentially recovery "scholarships" for those not covered by health insurance.

"Our 100-day goal was to get 125 people into recovery — and we ended up with 135," Sullivan said. "There’s still much more work to be done; but this has been a bright light in a devastating health-care crisis."

Schnellenberger Family Foundation

Howard Schnellenberger has seen the ravages of addiction in his own family: Two of his three sons battled the disease for decades.

One — Stephen — died of Hodgkin lymphoma in 2008.

The other — Tim — has dedicated his life to helping others achieve recovery: He is the founder of the 48-bed, male-only Healing Properties Halfway House and Recovery Boot Camp in Delray Beach.

Later this month, the Schnellenberger Family Foundation will host a three-day retreat in Delray Beach for the families of recovering addicts.

As Tim Schnellenberger explained, "The families are the silent sufferers. We created this program to educate and immerse families in the teachings and tools that will help them help deal with the addiction of their loved one."

The retreat, which costs $99 per attendee and tends to fill up fast, is scheduled for Sept. 28-30 and will be held at Fairfield Inn & Suites (910 W. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach). Visit eventbrite.com or call 561-563-8880 to register.

Treating addiction as ‘chronic disease’

According to Michael Weiner of Lifespan Recovery Management, "We’ve been treating addiction the same way we’ve been treating the flu. We give it a lot of attention when it gets really bad. Then, when we’re ‘better’ — i.e., stopped using — in a few weeks, we return to our lives. Treatment for addictions is not working because we’ve been treating a chronic disease (addiction) with an acute care model (how we treat the flu)."

He also believes that the language used in treatment and recovery is crucial because certain words carry negative connotations, which can lead to stigmatization.

For instance, he noted that the Office of National Drug Control Policy recommended that "the term ‘relapse’ be replaced with ‘recurrence.’"

Implicit in this language is the understanding that throughout a person’s life, his or her symptoms of addiction will wax and wane. And that when symptoms do become acute, there’s no shame attached to it.

Weiner believes his Lifespan Recovery Management protocol gives those battling addiction the best chance for long-term success: "The most basic premise of my approach is that at any point in time, the intensity of care would match the severity of symptoms."

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